


Kings

by riverbanks



Category: Glee
Genre: Drabble, Gap Filler, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-15
Updated: 2011-05-15
Packaged: 2017-10-20 16:50:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverbanks/pseuds/riverbanks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He sits in bed for the rest of the night staring at the creature sitting at his feet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kings

**Author's Note:**

> [following 2x20 Prom Queen]

He sits in bed for the rest of the night staring at the creature sitting at his feet as the light of cars passing by hit it through the curtains and throw the whole room into flashes of gold, willing himself to embrace it, to own it, to carry the weight and feel proud of it like it’s a part of himself.

He doesn’t.

He tries to hate it instead, to feel angry and sad and sick to his stomach until he has to throw up, to burn the spark of the rhinestones behind his eyelids until he has to scratch it away with his nails, to hurt so much the only way to put out the black hole of venom that is his heart is to claw it out of his chest and burn it in the fireplace with the kilt and the crown and the scepter and the t-shirt and the blazer and that stupid last streak of desperate optimism in his head that keeps telling him things are gonna get better even if they never do.

But there’s nothing there. There’s no anger, no pain, nothing. Only the tackiest prom crown he’s ever seen from a long history of 80’s movies through every Disney Channel Very Special Prom Episode lying halfway upside down across the floor, staring back at him.

He can’t sleep and the hours pass and the morning comes and the more he stares the less he feels until the sun is out and he doesn’t feel anything at all.

The knock on the door snaps him out of it, and Finn is calling out for him, Kurt are you awake open the door are you okay Rachel told me hey man open up come on I just wanna know you’re alright come on Kurt open the door, and finally -finally- Kurt wakes up and he’s shaking and wants to answer, to say something, anything at all, but he can’t move and Finn is still knocking.

He’s a bolt out of bed and into his closet up in the left last box before the small chest. Finn topples over into his room as he rushes past, one quick glance behind that makes Finn stop dead on his tracks of following him down the stairs.

“Please don’t tell dad yet.”

He drives half-blindly, the turns making themselves like an old habit, sunlight piercing his eyes and making him miss at least one red sign. His phone has been ringing forever and he’s one breath away from just throwing it onto the morning traffic just to see it crash, but he settles for tossing it into the glove box and letting it scream into nothing all day if it takes.

It’s probably nine when he makes it to the driveway, or at least he hopes it is because it’s been forever since the last time he checked the clock and he knows they’re up with the sun every day but the last thing he wants is to get anyone out of bed over his small town teenage angst when they have enough problems of their own.

Sure as the sun the kids are already running around when he steps out of the Navi, and it’s all Kurt can do to surrender and let them have his way with him when the little beasts tackle him like he’s made out of candy.

“I brought you something.”

It’s maybe half an hour and a few sips into something they call Southern coffee but Kurt can only describe as tar on a cup later when he hears the lazy footsteps behind him and glances back to find Sam standing there in his pajamas, hair pointing out in every direction, droopy eyes trying to take in the small circus in front of them. Sam gapes, and chokes on a word, and tries again, and gapes a bit more, so Kurt smiles and speaks for him.

“Good morning.”

Sam blinks at him, and back at his siblings, the wheels in his head visibly trying to work faster until he just gives up and sits beside him on the stairs, reaching into his hands and stealing the liquid atrocity to down it in one long sip before Kurt can warn him it’s long gone cold, only to make a face as the aftertaste settles. Before them, the kids run around in circles, casting spells at each other with their magic sceptres. In Stacey’s head, Kurt’s favorite heartstone tiara shines in the sun, her hair up in braids and carefully pinned around the five layered hearts. In Stevie’s head, the creature is not a creature, the haunting sum of a scream he can never let out - it’s just a crown, dangling half loose from the little blond demon’s head. Stevie grins and waves at them like a wicked prince charming and turns back to spelling his sister into a lizard, and when Kurt glances up, Sam’s face is more serious than he remembers it can get, the memory of Sam flailing around like a headless chicken with his ladies all night still bringing a small grin to his face.

They stare for a second, and turn away when the weight of the things they want to say grows into one second too long. Sam doesn’t ask, and Kurt doesn’t answer.

“You sure?” Sam finally mumbles into the rest of his coffee, and Kurt shrugs and waves back with spirit fingers at Stacey.

They sit in silence for a while, Sam yawning and scratching at his eyes a few times, watching the kids until Sam’s mom has her head out the door, calling out for him. “Sam, did you shower yet?”

Sam snaps back to growl something but suddenly gets the guiltiest look in his face and Kurt has to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing out loud when Sam digs his head into his arms trying to smell his own armpits and coming out with an even guiltier look. He’s suddenly red as a beet and Kurt smiles, his shoulders shaking just a little bit from the chuckle he’s trying to stop. It’s not like he’s in a much better state himself - he skipped his moisturizing routine and is not even sure he remembered to brush his hair -or teeth- before going outside this morning, and his armpits are territory best left alone until he can take a good bath to cleanse this night away.

“I should be going” he says, and his voice sounds almost normal in his ears again - the first time in hours he doesn’t feel like he’s speaking through nails on chalkboard. “Still gotta figure out a way to tell my dad without giving him another heart attack.”

Sam nods, quiet that way he gets, and turns back to the kids as Kurt walks back to his car, warning them with a small nod to come play closer to their room.

“The kilt was pretty cool.”

Kurt looks back, trying not to falter so obviously on his step. He can hear his phone still screaming inside the car and figures he’s gonna have to pick up some time. But not now. He smiles back at Sam as he turns the engine on and waves his bye-bye at the kids. “I liked the tie too.”

He glances back in the rear-view mirror one last time as he turns left, catching a last glimpse of the kids running around Sam now, probably trying to spell him into a duck, Prince Stevie’s brand new crown catching the sun and blinding him for a blink as Kurt hums under his breath a little melody from the night he can now sleep out to forget.


End file.
